Brake Pads to replace Nukeproof Sintered

For the last 10 years I have been using the Nukeproof Sintered brake pads (come in pack of 4 for £45) and have had excellent performance, long lasting, low or no noise used for steep wet UK riding and long enduro descents in the alps.

I have no idea whether Nukeproof will survive the take over and start selling parts again but I need to find an alternative brake pad supplier.

I am too stingy to fork out for the OEM pads at £30-£40 per pair.

Looking for recommendations for around £10-£12 per pair as a direct replacement.

A long time ago I tried the uber bike sintered pads and they were terrible, initially fine but wore quickly and as they worn became progressively more noisy, also found they were harsh on rotor wear.

I have been looking at Gorilla brake sintered competition pads.

Any advice personal experience would be appreciated.

Thanks

I tried some  of the Sintered Comp pads after I burned through their Multi Compound Semi Metallic (black) pads in ~50 miles (twice).

The Sintered Comp bit really hard and had loads of power but they were unbearably noisy, wet or dry. The surface area of the friction material was also smaller than the standard (Shimano) pads meaning there was a 2mm lip around the perimeter of the (shimano) disc that wasn’t in contact with the pad.

I queried it with Gorilla who said the Sintered Comp pads aren’t compatible with Shimano discs(?). They sent me a pair of Enduro Pro Semi Metallic FOC. They lasted about 30 miles of wet gritty riding. The last 10 miles back to the car wore through to metal backing and wrote off the disc.

I worked out that in terms of friction material, it wasn’t actually any cheaper to buy the Gorilla Pads over Shimano as the Gorilla’s are smaller all round.

I was looking for a cost effective alternative to the Shimano Semi Metal pads. I’m still looking. I found genuine pads on Biketart for a decent discount so bought a few pairs which have been perfect so far.

I know Galfer are well thought of around here. They’ll be the next thing I try.

You’ve not said which brakes you’re using which might make a difference but it’s pretty easy to pick up discounted quality pads.

EBC used to supply Hope (think they now use Galfer) – quick google picks them up for c£12 a set. Clarks pads are fine IME – they’re sintered as cheap as £7 on eBay.  You can quite often find ‘workshop’ stock of OEM pads on Ebay without packaging at way below packaged retail.

I’ve found Uberbrake Ebike brake pads (bright blue backing plate) to be very good. As soon as the pads wear out on these new brakes, I’ll be replacing them with the blue pads.

What pads are 40 quid a pair ?. I’ve never paid any more than £17.

I have various brake sets, Sram Code RSC, Shimano XT M8120 and Sram Level..

I think I’ll steer clear on Gorilla in that case. Thanks

Galfer purple I’ve seen for £17 a pair which is half the price of OEM but a lot more than the Nukeproof were at £12 a pair.

Anyone able to advise on Galfer Black vs Red vs Purple?

Shimano XT M8120 D02S Metal Pad (without fin) – £23.99

Shimano XT M8120 N04C Metal Pad (with fin) – £42.99

Uberbike blue

Always a wee bit hesitant to recommend these, but, I’ve been using Bikeinn ceramic pads from aliexpress for a few years now and they’ve been really good. And £9 for 4 pairs, but forget that, I use them because I like them. I got the first set out of curiosity but they’ve been well tested- did the Mega on them and a couple of weeks of general alping, plus UK enduros and uplifts, and endless scottish bogtrotting and #enduroing and suchlike. They last well, they’re consistent, they’re not super powerful but it’s 2024, who is using brakes that are so bad they need super powered pads? A wee bit honky, but then, I think this might be partly a brake or setup thing, all my brakes end up pretty noisy.

I’d try some of those AliExpress pads if I could work out which ones to get. That website gives me a headache.

I don’t want to speak too soon but I think they just updated the search engine so that it sorta works now. It was <increidbly> bad for a while there. Oh you searched for 2 terms? Well here is everything with either of those terms, with all the results you actually wanted hidden. Oh you changed it to sort by value? There are now no hits at all. Undo that? Fine but we’re changing the language to turkish.

I’ve been using sintered or ‘ceramic’ Aliexpress pads for years (can’t tell any difference between them). I tend to buy whichever brand has a good price for a pack of 4 or 10. I think i’ve had one pad where the material came unbonded towards the end of its life … but then I’ve had that happen with an OEM pad too.

Merlin sells EBC pads for under a tenner, mostly, depending on model. I’ve found them pretty good, though I’ve not tried the sintered ones – I’ve rarely found a sintered pad that’s not both really noisy, slightly wooden and hard on rotors. I’ve got a pair of Galfer black on a set of Zees and so far they’ve been fine also, with the proviso that I’ve not used them much.

I’ve rarely found a sintered pad that’s not both really noisy, slightly wooden and hard on rotors.

Yeah I take the view that rotors can be more expensive than pads, so I usually ride quieter organic pads – as my brakes have plenty of power anyway.

Kevlar ones (where do they fall on the organic/sintered spectrum?) were more consistent on long, hard descents in the Alps, but organic do me fine for almost all UK riding (Fort Bill DH possibly excepted).

I’d be interested in hearing the case for other pads though.